"Heather Small is the British R&B sensation that has sold millions of records and won loads of awards.The singer was born in Ladbroke Grove in 1965, finding early inspiration in everything from the Clash to calypso. As a young girl, she studied both dance and singing, but after missing an important dancing audition as a teen, she decided to set her sights on singing. Still in high school, Small found a local advertisement for a group audition, and won the girls over for a spot in Hot House. As lead singer, the short life of Hot House still gained Small the attention she warranted, meeting Mike Pickering, a DJ at Manchester's Hacienda nightclub, which led to M People.M People produced several hits, including ""Moving on Up"" and ""One Night in Heaven."" The group won the Best British Dance Act Award at the Brits in '94 and '95, with which Small helped to jump start her own solo career. Her debut single, ""Proud,"" took the country by storm, demonstrating Small's creative abilities. The album by the same name exploded Small into international fame. From there, she was traveling around the world, performing when Britain won the Olympic bid, at the 60th anniversary of VE Day in Trafalgar Square, at the launch of Queen Mary 2 as well as in Oprah's Chicago studio, all performing her hit single ""Proud."" In 2005 Small performed alongside Eric Clapton and Charlotte Church, to name a few, at the Tsunami Relief Concert at the Cardiff Millennium Stadium. She took six years off to raise a child before returning in 2006 with the album Close to a Miracle. She continues to perform with M People in England, while raising her 9-nine-old sold and still performs her legendary single ""Proud."""